RÚV received a video this week that shows a whale just off the beach at Reynisfjara; the second time in about a week. Guðjón Már Sigurðsson, marine biologist and cetacean expert at the Icelandic Marine Research Institute, says the whale swims shallow in a search for food.

Weather warnings for northern gales and heavy rainfall that swept through the country yesterday expired last night. The weather was accompanied by heavy precipitation, snow or sleet, and widespread winter conditions on the roads.

The wet weather this summer and autumn in southwest Iceland is causing a major headache for the region’s potato farmers. Þykkvibær, one of the country’s best-known potato producers, is suffering a mould outbreak in its potato beds for the first time in 20 years and the soil is too wet for harvesting machines to get to work.

The heaviest puffling (baby puffin) ever recorded in Iceland was weighed by scientists in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago recently, and the director of the South Iceland Natural History Institute believes the puffin stock overall may never have been bigger than now. The news comes after many failed breeding seasons since 2000 and worries for the species’ future.

The thermometer at the main visitor centre in Þingvellir National Park went all the way down to –9.6°C last night and meteorologists confirm that is one of the coldest temperatures ever recorded in a built-up area at this time of year—and could even have been a new record.

Potato farmers in Þykkvabær on Iceland’s south coast are thankful that the last days of summer were wet and warm. The spring was cold and early August was colder than it has been in living memory.

Several dozen oil-covered seabirds have been discovered on the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago in recent days and weeks. The environment agency website states that most of the birds were found around the harbour on Heimaey and on Klauf beach. Oiled birds were first noticed as long ago as the start of this year.

The puffling season is at its height and locals and visitors are busy helping lost baby puffins out to sea.

A total of 78% of puffin nests on the islands were occupied in a recent survey. Puffins have been hard hit in recent years due to a diminished food supply. It remains to be seen how successful the breeding season will be.

A golden plover, traditionally believed to announce the arrival of spring in Iceland, was spotted in Stokkseyri on March 28, a little later than usual. They spends the winter as far south as North Africa, returning north to breed.

A large 4x4 with trailer was found overturned in a ditch, fencing had been flattened, and roof panels from seven buildings were found 100 metres away from their roofs when the family returned to Norðurhjáleiga farm.

Warming temperatures have caused large stones to break off the cliff at Reynisfjara beach, South Iceland.

Environmental and economic changes could make it easier for non-native plants and animals to gain a foothold in the North.

There has never been more use of hot water in the capital area in November than this year. The temperature that month was measured as quite cold according to the Icelandic Met Office, explaining the need for more hot water.

It has recently been confirmed that a poisonous mushroom, by the name of Steinkrympill has found its way to Iceland.